"Somehow Overlapping"... Jo Gwang-han's Book Draws Reactions Saying 'Very Similar to Lee Jae-myung's Character'

Mayor Jo Gwang-han Reveals Content of Book 'Election Failure is National Failure'
"We Must Reflect on the Harmful History of Narrow-minded and Violent Leaders"
Media Reports Claim "It Is Said to Target Gyeonggi Province Governor Lee Jae-myung"

Book cover of Mayor Jo Gwang-han [Provided by Mayor Jo Gwang-han]

[Asia Economy Reporter Ra Young-cheol] Jo Gwang-han, Mayor of Namyangju City, who has consistently clashed with Lee Jae-myung, Governor of Gyeonggi Province, revealed the contents of his book titled "Election Failure, National Failure (Subtitle: My Dream, Strong Nation, Prosperous People)" to be introduced at a publication event on the 29th. Following this, reactions from the media and political circles noted that "the character resembles that of Governor Lee Jae-myung."

The book includes historical events that Mayor Jo serialized on SNS, explained in an easy-to-understand manner to emphasize the importance of elections.

Regarding the book's content, Mayor Jo pointed out, "The success and failure of a nation have depended on its political system," adding, "When a narrow-minded and violent leader is elected, the harm is directly passed on to the people, and we must revisit this history."

He also stressed, "We must be cautious about the dangers of populism." Mayor Jo warned about the harm of popular appeasement policies on nations by citing cases of countries that failed due to populism in three parts.

Like Stalin's dictatorship, which was the background for the publication of Animal Farm, he explained topics that ordinary people might overlook from a humanities perspective, clarifying the awareness of issues facing contemporary society.

The book also includes a fourth part about Hitler, a leader elected by a margin of just one vote, who became a disaster for humanity.

Some media outlets linked Mayor Jo's book to Governor Lee, reporting that "there are rumors that the book targets Lee Jae-myung, the leading Democratic Party presidential candidate," and "Jo Gwang-han, Mayor of Namyangju City, who points out Lee Jae-myung's 'policy plagiarism,' has published his SNS serialized writings as a book."

Mayor Jo's emphasis on "the virtues of leaders along with historical events" and his concern that "free things may seem sweet at first but the results are very bitter and miserable" have been interpreted as indirect criticism of Governor Lee's policies as "populism pandering to popularity."

In political circles, there are even reactions saying, "The words 'populism' and 'violent leader' somehow overlap with the ongoing controversies surrounding Governor Lee, such as debates over basic income and housing policies, private family matters like the 'sister-in-law insult' incident, and allegations of an 'actress scandal,' all targeted by the media and Lee's political rivals."

The reason is that Governor Lee and Mayor Jo have been in conflict over issues related to Namyangju City in Gyeonggi Province, including the legality of audits, disputes over river and valley maintenance policy plagiarism, and problems with disaster relief payment methods.

Moreover, since Gyeonggi Province excluded Namyangju City from the special adjustment grant distribution last April on the grounds that disaster basic income was paid in cash rather than local currency, both sides are also engaged in legal disputes.

Joo Kwang-han, Mayor of Namyangju City [Asia Economy DB]

In particular, Mayor Jo's remark that "the desperate feeling of considering the importance of next year's presidential election made me write" lends credibility to interpretations that the political situation ahead of the election and Mayor Jo's message are very similar. Attention is also focused on Governor Lee's future response.

Meanwhile, prior to the publication event, Mayor Jo stated, "The writings that started with the title 'Is Our Country Really Okay?' have reached about 20 pieces, and I decided to publish a book upon the recommendation of devoted readers."

He added, "I want to create a comfortable space at the publication event to share thoughts that could not be fully expressed in writing."

Moon Hee-sang, former Speaker of the National Assembly and the book's recommender, introduced Mayor Jo by saying, "Although the author uses the 'past' as the subject matter, the theme clearly aims at the 'future.' Mayor Jo has been a close aide, political comrade, and colleague for over 30 years."

To comply with COVID-19 prevention measures, the publication event will be held in four sessions from 2 PM to 5 PM at the Seoul Marina in Yeouido. Mayor Jo plans to take commemorative photos with attendees and have time for communication.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.